London has been battered by 50mph winds that have felled trees and caused travel chaos. Powerful gusts swept across the capital as the Met Office issued a yellow "be aware" weather alert for most of the country.

A former Foreign Office manager has admitted faking a visa application to bring a Nigerian nanny to work for him in Britain for £300 a month.

James Mooney, 33, of Coulsdon, wrongly claimed that housekeeper Rose Inah had been working for him in Nigeria for a year to ensure she would qualify for a visa.

But on the second day of his trial at Inner London crown court he admitted he had only employed her for six months. The judge warned Mooney he faced jail for assisting unlawful immigration and adjourned sentencing. His partner Natasha Vukic, 36, who worked for the UK Border Agency, was cleared after prosecutors offered no evidence.